Imagination
by dshirochan
Summary: (Imagination - a creation of the mind;the act or power of forming a mental image of something not present to the senses or never before wholly perceived in reality) It's all in Kuroko's head. Everything up to now had just been a product of his delusions. He's stuck in his dreamworld and Kagami can't save him.


**Disclaimer:** Kuroko no Basuke is not mine :D I own nothing :))

**Imagination**

_The crowds cheered louder than ever and the lights in the court had never been brighter. Every player on the court had an unmistakeable look of fury, each eager to end the match as the winner. This was so much more than anyone might have expected; Seirin shouldn't have caught up to Rakuzan when they'd been behind in all the previous quarters. This change in the tide was ultimately the handiwork of the Phantom Sixth Man and now as the clock ticked away to mere seconds before the end of the game, Seirin and Rakuzan were neck in neck and the emperor team was in the lead by two measly points._

_The final moments of the game were left in the hands of both teams' aces while the audience watched with bated breath as the outcome of the showdown between the two redheads was decided. With only ten seconds left, Kagami Taiga received the incredible pass that flew halfway through the court, miraculously broke past Akashi Seijuro's defense and slammed the ball in for a dunk the feared captain wasn't able to stop._

_The buzzer rang. 104 - 104. Rakuzan seethed in anger and Seirin could only hope they can pull through. The match was not over yet as a pair of mismatched orbs locked into the figures of Kagami and Kuroko Tetsuya. If they thought Akashi didn't have some more tricks up his sleeve, then they were in for a surprise. Will the rookie team somehow overthrow the reigning champions off their pedestal or will the emperors prove once again that they are unbeatable? Everyone prepared for the most heated overtime of the competition._

Kagami closed his eyes and sighed.

Opening them again, his grip on a bunch of fresh flowers tightened as his other hand turned the cold doorknob, revealing a plain white room, at the center of which was a small bed where a familiar boy lied. "Kuroko," Kagami greeted, hiding the sadness in his voice. He could never do it like his friend did and he knew Kuroko could tell. "Kagami-kun," came the tealhead's cool voice, flat and monotone as always, as he watched the setting sun outside the only window in the room. "How have you been?" he continued. Kagami thought that was supposed to be his line. "Fine. You?" He seated himself on the chair beside the boy after replacing the withered flowers on the nightstand with the fresh ones he brought. "I am fine as well, Kagami-kun. How is your knee?"

"What knee?" Kagami's fists balled tightly. _"Please, not this again."_ he thought.

"Your knee, Kagami-kun. You injured it during the match against Rakuzan," came the calm reply, flat and emotionless. It was almost as if Kuroko hadn't been concerned at all, but Kagami knew better, though he wished the tealhead's concern was not directed to some imaginary injury the redhead did not have.

"Kuroko.."

"Coach will not let you participate during practices if you do not rest your knee properly, Kagami-kun."

Kagami fought the urge to argue with the boy. It was pointless to do so anyway. It would not bring sense back to him and it would not make him wake up to reality. Kagami wanted to hit something, anything, if only to vent his frustration with all this. Kuroko was his friend and he could not bear seeing him in this delusional condition. He wished the boy would just snap out of it and leave behind his fantasies but it had been a few years since the accident, and he knew the boy was not getting any better soon.

So for now, he'd play along and dive into the tealhead's world, where they were all happy playing basketball for the fun of it and for the other reasons that came along. For now, he'd let his mind wander alongside Kuroko's, and he'd listen to his friend's vivid stories of magic invisible passes, full court shots, and copycats.

"I'll put an ice pack or something on it later. So who won this time, Kuroko?"

"Kagami-kun does not remember one of the most memorable matches of his life so far? I do not believe that.."

"Remind me again how the game was. Everything happened so fast, I really didn't understand all the stuff."

"Hhm.. I suppose Kagami-kun is an idiot, after all," Kuroko answered flatly before facing the taller boy, "We were tied, 104 to 104. Kiyoshi-senpai got the tip-off for the overtime and we scored the first one but Rakuzan took all the points after that. It wasn't a surprise after all, we were already so tired and Akashi-kun was more serious than ever. We lost, 106 to 112."

"Oh, yeah we did, didn't we? It was a good game though."

"Yes, it was a good game, Kagami-kun. You really put up a fight. Let's play that way again next time."

Kagami nodded silently in reply, biting his lip hard to suppress a sob that tried to escape. Pathetic really, grown up boys like him shouldn't sob like little girls. Kuroko was his friend, and for his friend's sake, he was not going to be weak. No matter how much he ignored it though, the pang of guilt and the feeling of uselessness lingered. If only he had somehow prevented this from happening- No, that was a situation entirely out of his control. Now, the only thing he could do was to help Kuroko recover and he wasn't doing a very good job at it.

He thought about how the only basketball the tealhead will be playing will be the ones in his head, at least until he decides to finally move on. He knew if only things had gone for a better turn, Kuroko would have had a much brighter future. He might have taken up a profession in writing because he was so good at it, what with his brilliant imagination and his love for reading, or he could have chosen a career in teaching kindergarten children, just like he'd said he wanted. He should be in High school right now, making memories with friends and finally joining a basketball club. Maybe he'd actually be good at it, and not just at the magic invisible passes he tells Kagami about. Instead he was here, stuck in a lonely room in a mental facility where everything was white and gray. Here, Kuroko had created another reality for himself and Kagami feared he might never pull him out of it.

Kagami knew he had to stop the boy from coming up with all these stories. Beautiful as they may be, they were the fruits of the boy's attempt at locking himself up in a dreamworld. They were preventing him from living a normal life. Sooner or later, Kuroko had to face the fact that his friends, the ones he called the Generation of Miracles, for that was what they would have been if only they were given the chance, were gone.

"Kuroko.."

"What is it, Kagami-kun?"

"Do you really want to play again?

"What are you asking? Of course, I do."

"Then stop all this!" Kagami yelled out, voice shaky as he stood up and held the smaller boy by his shoulders.

"What are you talking about, Kagami-kun?"

"You know what I'm talking about, Kuroko. Please.. _Please.._ at least for yourself, stop all this." His head hung low to hide the tears that formed at the corners of his eyes while Kuroko's eyes remained blank and lifeless and his voice devoid of any emotion. From behind the strands of fiery red hair that fell past his eyes, he could see two round sky blue orbs, watching him innocently. Was he supposed to tell Kuroko that he and his five other close friends had been in a bus accident in their third year? And what would he accomplish anyway? Bitterly, he thought it might only make the tealhead worse. Besides, Kagami knew that Kuroko knew that perfectly well no matter how much he tried to deny it to himself.

No, maybe this was for the best. At least in daydreams, Kuroko could be happy and he wouldn't have to face loss and grief. He'd be Kuroko Tetsuya, the incredible, dependable and unexpected shadow of Seirin and he'd enjoy playing basketball with all his friends.

"Kagami-kun?"

"Nevermind. I just thought we'd definitely get stronger and next time we'll beat all those Generation of Miracles for sure. And I'll come up with some move to fly around the court with you on my back so you'd be the one to dunk," Kagami answered as he released the smaller boy from his grip and the two of them turned to watch the sun sink into the horizon.

"Kagami-kun has such a wild imagination."

* * *

**AN**: Okiieee.. How was that? This seemed much better when it was still in my mind D: Anyway, this is for **LicaToRiku**. I'm sorry it's not a very happy story XD We can write our Kagami fic some other time maybe? :)) So thanks for reading! Reviews will really be appreciated :D


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